Forest inventory and wildland monitoring services.
Forest Data provides custom biometric consulting services. We custom design and process your forest inventories to assure the answers you want with the statistical validity you need at the minimum cost. For instance, we have developed many inventory methodologies for private landowners, cities, researchers and practicing foresters. We recently developed Access database tools that empower GIS to work seamlessly with raw forest inventory data, and data recorders to seamlessly obtain that information on field data recorders. We are managing inventories for carbon, sustained yield analysis, local inventories, resource monitoring and more.
We also have been FIA contractors with the US Forest Service since 1993. More information is provided below.
Independent Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Data Management, Analyses and Interpretation
The US Government spends over $30 million each year to collect raw data on U.S. forests. These include the pine plantations of the south, the hardwoods of the northeast and the Allegheny Plateau, the conifers of the northwest and Alaska, the diverse forests and woodlands of California and the rainforests of the Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico. These data are collected under rigid data specifications, are checked for quality control and used to provide an annual report to congress. To be quite candid, these data are exceedingly underutilized. Though some researchers, including analysts with the US Forest Service, use this robust nationwide dataset daily, there are countless applications when FIA may be the dataset of choice, but is overlooked due to its complexity, and the general problems encountered when trying to obtain service from an overburdened public agency entrusted with its maintenance and interpretation.
Forest Data can put this robust dataset to work for you.
Typical FIA applications
Examples of applications include:
analysis of local forest inventories, growth and change anywhere in the US
a forest carbon inventory to obtain estimates of carbon sequestration.
plantation growth projections for analysis of investment opportunities
macro analyses of climate, fire, drought, insect mortality, and other impacts.
modeling of habitat suitability for endangered wildlife species
urban forest inventory applications
Experience
Forest Data staff has cllected FIA field data for years. We know the the FIA program inside and out. We are familiar with the FIA history, the data, the methods, the people and the subtleties. Having visited thousands of these permanent field cluster plots we also know the country and the individual forests where the California data were collected.
Therefore Forest Data is an excellent source available to answer your FIA and forest inventory questions. Using source FIA data and powerful utility programs that we have developed, Forest Data Corp. can provide your agency, company or non-profit with the inventory and monitoring answers you need from this robust nationwide data set.
Examples of recent FIA applications that we have developed:
Identification of potential habitat for 42 r&e species via analyses of variables from the public CVS, FIA and Region 5 Inventory data sets for Oregon, Washington and California—over 5000 cluster plots in all (in conjunction with Redwood Sciences Lab, Arcata, California).
A statewide inventories of oak woodlands and forests of California (California Oak Foundation)
Inventories of public land resources in the Sierra Nevada (Sierra Business Council)
Combined FIA data with user GIS data sets to further leverage the FIA data set (California Resources Agency).
Handheld Forest Data Systems
In 2006 we developed specialized hand held electronic data recording programs to assure complete and correct and efficient recording of complicated and specialized forest inventory field data. We have developed forest inventory programs for Husky FS/2, Fex21, MC-5 and IPAQ and other data recording devices. We have a large number of used data recorders so we can inexpensively offer you hardware and software for your field inventory application.
Recent Inventory Publications:
Bill Zielinski, Jeffrey Dunk, Richard Truex and Tom Gaman. 2006. Using Forest Inventory Data To Assess Fisher Resting Habitat Suitability in California. Ecological Applications ,16(3),2006,pp.1010 –1025. Ecological Society of America.
Gaman, T.; Casey, K. 2002. Inventory of Oaks on California's National Forest Lands USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-184. (PDF .62 Mb)
Gaman, Tom. A California County Oak Index. 2002. Newsletter of the California Oak Foundation. Avaialble at
Gaman, Tom and Casey, Kevin. 2003. Spatial Analysis of Large Tree Distribution of FIA Plots on the Lassen National Forest. Presented at the FIA Clients Meeting in Portland.
Timmer, Kerri, Tom Gaman and Bill Scott. 2007. State of Sierra Agriculture. Available online.
For further information please contact:
Tom Gaman, Registered Forester #1776
Forest Data Corp.
PO Box 276
Inverness, Ca 94937